I just want an accurate pressure gauge!!!

[Proprioceptive]

So I have five pressure gauges in my garage. Two are attached to bike pumps and they read 21psi and 26psi, so I just plain don't use those for anything... but when I use the ones I bought for my car, I get 36psi from a $6 round gauge with the needle readout, 38psi from my pencil style popout gauge, and 39psi from another round needle readout gauge my wife had in her car. WTF gives??? Is this normal? I just want a freaking accurate reading!

 

[ElFenix]

my dial gauge, bike pump gauge, and digital gauge all read the same. lucky me?

 

[Proprioceptive]

my dial gauge, bike pump gauge, and digital gauge all read the same. lucky me?

And now I officially hate you.

 

[Meghan54]

Get a good digital. Problem solved.

 

[Throckmorton]

I just want an accurate gauge that clamps to the valve, none of this "press real hard" bullshit.

That gauge doesn't exist.. I spent $30 for a digital one that was supposed to be high quality, and it never got a good seal even with the clamp, then stopped working after a few months.

 

[id09542]

I have seen this also. Price of the guage has no bearing to the accuracy. And it is not just 1-2 PSI, it is 5-9 PSI swing. After awhile, you wonder which one is actually correct.

 

[Bignate603]

You're complaining about a 3 psi range on a ~40 psi reading? That's pretty darn good for a dirt cheap gauge trying to get a seal on a cheap valve stem that has dirt, brake dust, and road grime on it.

 

[Gibson486]

pretty tough thing to do. You have to be sure you have the same exact seal each time to get "accurate" results. You have to do some sort of method where you look for constant pressure, not instantaneous.

 

[Fenixgoon]

what you really want is an accurate *and* precise gauge

 

[kornphlake]

Get a good digital. Problem solved.

I'm not sure why you believe that digital gages are more accurate than a standard gage, a cheap gage is a cheap gage rather it's digital or not. I see people try to use digital calipers to measure out to .0005in or .01mm, even though the last digit is not a significant digit. The only way to measure to that level of precision is to use a micrometer that is inherently more precise. Likewise a pressure gage is only as accurate as it is designed to be, if you need a higher level of precision then you need to step up to a gage that is capable of higher resolution, regardless of the display type.

 

[shortylickens]

I got the little metal round one for 5 bucks and it works great.

 

[Billb2]

We use this on our race cars. Kind of expensive for regular use though, but you can do 0.05 lbs and it corrects for barrametric pressure.

Intercomp digital tire air pressure gauge.

There are cheaper ones too. Check out any race car parts supplier.

 

[summit]

just inflate to a little below sidewall?

 

[Imported]

I use this. Maybe one day I'll upgrade to a Longacre or Intercomp..

 

[ElFenix]

pretty tough thing to do. You have to be sure you have the same exact seal each time to get "accurate" results. You have to do some sort of method where you look for constant pressure, not instantaneous.

my cheapo dial gauge sticks at the highest pressure. press a button to release.

the bike gauge has constant pressure. i thought it couldn't possibly be as accurate/precise as it is, but i guess i lucked out.

 

[Proprioceptive]

:\I guess at this point I'll just use all three and average them out

 

[DVad3r]

i pump my tire then i feel with hand to see if hard then i put saliva to valve check for leak then i go very ez n cheap

 

[DVad3r]

But seriously those Intercomp gauges look sweet. I'm pretty sure even the analog $ 60 ones do a good enough job for everyday use, I might actually pick one of those up since I'm anal about proper pressure.

Currently I have 2 digital gauges, one cheap one from Canadian Tire and another one that's slimmer for motorcycles. They both work pretty good I guess and show the same PSI, so I am guessing it's accurate.